Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

When the report of the consultative forum on international security policy was published in October, my initial reaction was to wonder what all the fuss was about. When the forum was established, a storm of controversy erupted. We were told that this was all part of a sinister plot by the Government to commence the process for Ireland to join NATO. The chairperson, Professor Louise Richardson was criticised, including by people who should have known better, and protesters attempted to disrupt the panel discussions.

In my view, Professor Dame Louise Richardson is to be congratulated for the manner in which she conducted the forum and for her final report. We managed to have a respectful debate and a wide range of views were facilitated. The final report is clear, concise and easy to read. We now have a considered description of Irish neutrality, in that we are deemed to be politically aligned and militarily non-aligned. The forum has been a most useful exercise.

It is clear from the report that the geopolitical environment is changing and therefore it was absolutely essential that Ireland would consider its security policy at this time. Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine altered significantly the international security environment, particularly in Europe. Other new, emerging threats have presented themselves in recent years including cyber threats, hybrid warfare, disinformation and election interference, as well as threats to our critical infrastructure, especially our offshore infrastructure, including undersea cables connecting the US to Europe. They have become all too apparent. We have already experienced a ransomware attack on the HSE and Russian ships have been observed acting suspiciously off the south-west coast of Ireland in our exclusive economic zone.

The report also says that we are only now beginning to examine the risks to our society posed by climate change. It goes on to state that our geographical location no longer provides us with the protection that it once did, for example, as it did during the Second World War. As I have said previously in the House, it would have been reckless and irresponsible of the Government not to assess and examine these developments and engage the public on the issues. Similarly, the establishment of the Commission on the Defence Forces was extremely important.

Irish people are rightly proud of our global reputation as regards foreign policy issues. The central elements of our foreign policy are: UN peacekeeping; crisis management and conflict prevention; disarmament, arms control, and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons; adherence to international humanitarian law; the promotion of fundamental human rights; and a commitment to humanitarian causes, including tackling global hunger and food insecurity, particularly in the global south. These priorities have evolved over many years, arising from our history and culture, including our non-colonial past. They have resulted in us exercising soft power, especially in the USA. As a result, we engage willingly and constructively in international institutions. This has been proven by our election from time to time to the UN Security Council. It is interesting that Norway, with its own unique tradition and history, and as a NATO member, has played an important role of facilitator between parties to conflicts and promotes conflict resolution and reconciliation. Ireland, with its own unique tradition and history, can do this too. The forum sums all of this up by stating that Ireland has a global reputation as an honest broker, mediator and advocate for human rights and arms control and more recently, in respect of the women, peace and security agenda. Long may this continue.

The approach of the Government to the horrific events taking place in Gaza is firmly rooted on these principles.

The forum also examined our ongoing participation in the EU Common Security and Defence Policy. Ireland participates in PESCO missions. We support the European peace facility and provide non-lethal equipment to Ukraine. Linked to this is our assistance with the EU training mission for Ukraine. We pay into the European defence fund. We have signed up to the EU strategic compass and have agreed to the concept of EU battle groups. The forum panellists all agreed there is no agenda to create a European army. In any event, member states are not interested in such an army. CSDP is not a stepping stone to a European army. We should dismiss that scaremongering once and for all. It seems generally accepted that all these CSDP initiatives are important and there is scope for deeper engagement with it as it evolves and develops. Similarly, there is no substantial objection to our ongoing participation in the NATO-led partnership for peace. I note the remarks of the Tánaiste regarding the NATO-led Partnership for Peace bringing forward an initiative to protect our underseas cables.

Where do we go from here? How should we proceed? First, we can all agree there is no question of Ireland joining NATO. Second, the triple lock is no longer fit for purpose. Government and Dáil sanction for overseas missions should be enough. The Defence Acts will need, therefore, to be amended. We cannot have authoritarian regimes exercising a veto over our deployments abroad. In this context, we are all agreed the UN needs to be reformed and we should continue to advocate for this. I welcome the comments by the Tánaiste in respect of bringing forward new legislation. I suspect it will relate to the Defence Acts. I look forward to seeing that legislation in due course. Third, there is no need to have a constitutional amendment to insert neutrality into Bunreacht na hÉireann. In any event, there is no agreed definition of "neutrality" and we need to have flexibility to respond to events quickly and without undue constraints. Fourth, we need greater public spending on all three branches of the Defence Forces to defend our land, sea and air. We need an armed neutrality, if one likes. The recommendations of the commission on the Defence Forces must continue to be implemented. I welcome the publication yesterday of a detailed implementation plan for the report of the commission on the Defence Forces. That is timely.

The Tánaiste in his contribution made several announcements. He announced there will be a new national security strategy, a national security authority and a maritime security strategy and indicated a robust and modern legislative framework will need to be brought forward to facilitate this. The House will have significant work to do when that legislation is brought forward. Today is only the start of the debate. This proposed legislation and these new initiatives will have to be extensively debated in the Dáil. I look forward to seeing the proposals in due course.

See this speech in context